Greece Early Empires The Greek CityStates Early CityStates

Greece Early Empires

The Greek City-States • Early City-States of the Aegean – Minoans settled Crete by 6000 B. C. E. – Produced pottery, written script and bronze tools – Development of new script (Linear B) shows rising influence of Greeks over Minoans

Mycenae

– Mycenaeans dominated relationship with Crete after 1450 B. C. E. – Minoan civilization fades into history…

Mycenae – Truth or Legend? Agamemnon – Power failed by 1200 B. C. E. for unknown reasons at start of Greek “Dark Ages” – Reemergence of Greek culture in 850 B. C. E.

The Greek POLIS • City-States! – Size restricted by geography – Overpopulation addressed by colonization – Built for defense and to accommodate mountains • Poorest lived at lower levels • Agora (open meeting space) on higher ground • Acropolis (temple) on highest ground

The Greek City-States • Athens and the Development of Democracy – Developed modern concept of political democracy – It was a leader among city-states – It left the most historical records – It moved farthest from kings and oligarchies to rule by the people

Athens: Democracy – Reforms led movement toward democracy [600 -560 B. C. E. ] • All free men could participate in decisions • Wealthy and poor represented in Councils • Ironically, slavery helped create democracy (they provided the free time necessary) • Reforms ended with class conflict and clan rivalries

– Open meetings every ten days to make decisions – Agenda set by Council of 500 selected by lottery from each deme (place of residence) – Political identity now based on place not wealth Athens: Democracy

• New reforms under Pisistratus [d. 527 B. C. E. ] included loans to farmers, road construction, and public works • Death of Pisistratus saw end of reform and invasion of Athens by Sparta (510 B. C. E. ) at invitation of Athenian elite

The Greek City-States – Athens now a more open society – Intellect and learning highly valued – Identity based on participation …but the Persians are coming!

City-States Unite! The Delian League • Battle of Marathon – 10, 000 man Greek army defeats 48, 000 man Persian army at Marathon (490 B. C. E. ] – Persia’s King Darius first attempt to conquer remaining Greeks – Greek key was hoplite soldiers organized into tightly-knit phalanxes, symbolic of citizen unity of city-state

More War with Persia – Xerxes, son of Darius, attempts to defeat Greeks – Thermopylae 480 BC- you know, 300 and all that King Leonidis – Leader of the Spartans 1814 2006

– Salamis – A naval victory for Greece! – Greek motivation offset power of Persians who were overextending their powers – Persians withdraw and by the following year, the invasion ends.

Athens: From Mini-State to Mini. Empire – Victory transformed Delian League (city states that joined together to defeat the Persians) into an empire led by Athens • The Golden Age of Athenian Culture – Pericles [c. 495 -429 B. C. E. ] directed subsequent Athenian flowering of arts and thought (creates the Acropolis)

Athens (Pericles) replaced wardamaged buildings with Delian League money and created elegant structures

The Golden Age of Athenian Culture – Historians – birth of the study of “modern history” - Philosophers • Socrates [d. 399 B. C. E. ] argued for the supremacy of the state over the individual • Plato [d. 348 B. C. E. ] promoted the study of ideals as the way to understand truth • Aristotle [d. 322 B. C. E. ] studied ethics and politics and served as tutor for Alexander the Great • Dramatists • Key themes were justice, morality and equity

Limits of City-State Democracy – Women had no right to political participation and were not seen as the equals of men – Aristotle: men command, women obey …see – men have always been dumb. – Citizenship restricted to native born males

Empire of Classical Greece – Chock Full ‘O Colonies!

Uh-oh…trouble for Athens… • Pericles’ imperialism alienates much of Greece • Fear prompts Sparta to lead the Greek effort to break Athenian domination in first Peloponnesian War (461 -451 B. C. E. ) • War ends in 404 BCE with Persian funded Spartan victory • Athens never recovers…

What the heck is a Macedonian? • Conquests of Philip II – Philip was a leader in Macedonia who pursued two goals: unify Greece and liberate Greeks everywhere from Persian control • Greek resistance was high based on fear of loss of political autonomy as result of unity You might say – we didn’t see “eye to eye”…

Empire of Alexander the Great . . that’s right. Great. – Conquered the “known” world – Greece, Persia, Egypt, ect. . – Followed policy of benevolent despotism (think Cyrus) – Created largest empire ever known to that point – Successful conquests were followed by attempts to gain control of India – Empire did not last long after the end of his life [323 B. C. E. ]

The Empire of Alexander. In 338 the Greek city-states were defeated by Philip of Macedon. His son, Alexander, extended the imprint of Greek culture far beyond its Mediterranean homeland. In a series of whirlwind campaigns between 334 and 323 b. c. e. , Alexander gained control of Syria and Egypt and then destroyed the might of Persia. He took his armies east to the Indus and north to central Asia, but died age 33 in Babylon.

Legacy of Alexander the Great – Spread Greek language, culture, and people across Asia Minor – Built roads and cities such as Alexandria, Egypt – unified urban culture of diverse people and vast lands